What is human?
by spicy-antipesto
Summary: In a world of technological luxury where robots are now made of living human organisms, one defective domestic model sets out on a journey to protect his master from the impending doom of the Harmony Company, which will stop at nothing to not have their darkest secrets exposed.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Hello. So this is my first FF... uhm, ever. Please be gentle, I know I have a lot to learn but this is really good practice for me to spread my wings and whatever other things I don't know.**

Anywho, here you go and please review and whatever else you feel like doing. Nobody is forcing you to, but I'd love it if you did.

... love it.

* * *

Two hundred years ago the first robot companion was free to purchase for residential use. They had been initially developed as a luxury item for the extremely wealthy, but someone somewhere must have seen the potential in a robot to do menial tasks for the vast population of the middle class.

Fifty years after that breakthrough the use of precious metals became a touchy issue, as it seemed the big blue marble called Earth was being tapped dry. So how does one bypass the lack of metal to build a fully functional android?

Simple, you use organic materials.

It was called 'Project Envi-R'.

An environmentally friendly robot. What a laugh that was. It was a simple test really. They look a small child, an infant whose prostitute mother had died in labor and raised the boy in a sterile laboratory. From day one they taught the boy the ins and outs of being an efficient... well, I suppose the proper term would be slave.

That didn't work. Human nature trumped the psychological methods of all those smart scientists. So they invented the Harmony Chip.

They implanted the Harmony Chip into a fully grown person this time.

It worked, but their business partners weren't completely happy with the results. Nobody would want to buy a frumpy, yet obedient and intelligent 'computer'.

So they took aspects of their first plan, and installed the Harmony Chip. Children were raised in large, sterile "schools". The Harmony Chip erased any need or desire to learn on their own, or grow as people, and heightened their intelligence to match even the most advanced computers.

The children were operated on and polished from a very young age and every single one was gorgeous, perfect even... and the public were sold from day one.

There were problems, every once in a while. Defects. Those ones never lasted long, but sometimes defects were only shown after you made your purchase.

The Harmony Company would exchange all damaged product, no questions asked.

Yet once in a while the owner became too attached to their new gadget and refused to return it, or so they say.

* * *

"Happy birthday, Ludwig- make a wish!"

The blonde boy, now a eighteen year old man blew out all the candles while his parents clapped happily on either side of him. He was a fairly happy young man, and had been given most of the privileges in life that he could ask for. Sure, his parents were fairly strict. With both of them having army experience and having failed to tame his unruly older brother, he didn't blame them. They loved him with all their hearts, and Ludwig knew that.

He smiled, a sight rarely seen, as his brother ruffled his soft locks, and even when his parents snapped a quick photograph of the duo.

"C'mon Luddy, it's present time! The old man has been killing me with suspense the past few weeks!" Their birthday's were only about a week apart, and Gilbert had been forced to wait until Ludwig turned eighteen until they could open their gift.

And the suspense only heightened as their father wheeled a very large wrapped box into the dining room with the help of their mother.

It was a large package, and although Gilbert was a lot more vocal about it they were both very excited.

Tearing through the paper they were greeted with a giant box made of glass. Inside was a boy, eighteen at most, with smooth olive skin and reddish brown hair. His eyelashes were long, unnatural, and his whole body was shamelessly on display for the family. He was lean, muscled... yet rounded and smooth.

He was perfect.

"I can't believe it, our own Harmony Bot!" Gilbert screamed, looking for a seam or button to open the contained as Ludwig stared in shock.

Ludwig didn't know how to feel.

"Sweetie, what do you think?" His mother chirped, smiling at her son as her husband stepped forward and held her close.

"I..."

He could feel all eyes on him as he stared with his mouth gaping open and palms sweaty.

"... w-what is his name?"

His father laughed a deep throaty laugh.

"Feliciano Vargas."

* * *

He and Gilbert were in the basement now, their own converted man-cave of a sort. Their parents travelled often and the two liked having a space where they couldn't notice their absence.

They loved their parents, and they didn't like them being gone for long periods of time, but they appreciated that they were able to travel together. It was funny, even after thirty years of marriage they were still madly in love.

They were skimming the user manual and trying to figure out how to get the boy out of what they referred to as sleep mode, which seemed accurate given the situation. You could see the chest of the boy rising and falling, as if he was actually asleep.

Shit, he was actually asleep. Ludwig mentally slapped himself for thinking that. It was common with Harmony Bot owners, that they would very often forget that their 'robots' were actually fully functional human beings.

Although you could go out and buy nutrition packs that you could just have them feed themselves, which usually consisted of the humanoid using an IV for a short while when their master slept, a few individuals chose to feed them the same food they ate.

They were programmed to work out X amount of time based on the amount of calories they ate, as to avoid gaining weight.

"It's behind the ear."

"What?" Ludwig whispered, shaken out of his own thoughts by his brother.

Gilbert laughed, taking a cord out of the box and plugging it into the wall before showing his younger brother the small hole behind the robot's ear, which had been covered by his hair before that.

Taking a deep breath they plugged in the cord and after a few silent moments of waiting the young, naked man on the floor took a loud breath and opened his eyes.

They were hazel, with specks of green and what seemed like gold in them. The thing that made Ludwig uncomfortable was that they didn't look like the eyes of most Harmony Bots. Distant and fake. These eyes looked so human.

They looked like they could actually... see.

"Unit 1861, code name Feliciano Vargas- customer start-up commencing." The boy spoke in a soft, soothing voice. Somehow the robot had managed to instantly calm Ludwig's nerves. They were manufactured to do so, Ludwig knew that.

"Please, tell me your names."

Gilbert was the first to speak up.

"Yo, robot- call me King Awesome!"

Feliciano stared at Gilbert for a long moment and his lips slowly curved into a smile. "Humor noted, may I add that master is very funny. Please, tell me your names?"

"Ludwig."

Both the robot and his brother turned to look at him, both seeming somewhat surprised.

"Ludwig... Beilschmidt."

There was a long silence for the second time that night and Ludwig felt his heart racing a mile a minute as the robot seemed to process the information.

"Duly noted. That will make this man Gilbert Beilschmidt. I look forward to serving you as your domestic harmony bot."


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh hey! Just so everyone knows this story will be rather long but updates will be very very very frequent. Every few days most likely~! Thank you for all the positive feedback, I very much appreciate it! :)**

Review and other things maybe thank you and I love you. 

* * *

The first few days all they really had Feliciano do was housekeeping. They knew their parents would be impressed when they returned home and their house was in better shape than when they left. All the yard work was complete, dishes always done on time, floors scrubbed of all filth. If Feliciano hadn't been an HR they probably would have been blown away by the attention to detail.

He was programmed to do this, they reminded themselves every day.

As the three of them sat together for dinner, an extravagant German feast prepared at Gilbert's request, Ludwig had decided to question his birthday gift for the very first time.

"How old are you?"

"My programming is the newest and top of the line."

"Do you like cleaning?"

"I do not have opinions."

"Do you like this food?"

"It has obvious nutritional benefits."

Every question was either dodged or deflected with that same soft, soothing expression. Harmony Bots were built to make their owner's feel comfortable and at ease, yet Feliciano's answers bothered him.

He understood the chip and what it did, but wasn't he still... human?

Ludwig watched the other eat, he had seen him sleep, and even excuse himself to use the washroom. He put on extra layers when he was cold, and removed them when he was hot.

Robots didn't do that, humans did.

* * *

"Feliciano, a little to the left- oh fuck yes!"

Ludwig felt his blood run cold as he jogged up the stairs towards Gilbert's bedroom, slamming the door open at the sounds he had heard from the kitchen, frowning and holding his face in his hand at the sight.

"I didn't know you were programmed to give massages~!" Gilbert moaned, turning his head to face the door and waving happily at his younger brother.

Feliciano nodded, eyes focused on his work as he hovered above the other, working his hands on the other's back. "I am efficient in a wide range of activities. As a domestic model I am suited primarily for making you happy."

Ludwig shook his head and left.

Why can't a robot be happy?

* * *

He woke up many hours later to the sound of a door opening and closing. That was odd, as Gilbert would have told him if he had planned to leave the house, and his parents were not due back home for another few days.

Jumping out of bed and grabbing his house coat he fled his room towards the noise.

Were they being robbed? Perhaps their dogs had finally found a way to open the back door and were trying to let themselves into the yard!

... the last one seemed overly improbable, as Feliciano always let them out like clockwork.

Feliciano. Ludwig bit his lip and began to walk even faster. It was very possible that someone was there to steal him. Harmony Bots were said to be able to defend their selves but Ludwig wasn't so sure. The small brunette didn't seem that strong.

He reached the still open screen door and stopped, his lips forming a small frown. Something was wrong. He had found the source of the noise, which had been Feliciano. For the first time since he had been given the HR he was just standing there, doing nothing.

Something was very wrong.

* * *

Feliciano stared up at the night sky, clear and beautiful, sparkling with possibilities. It had been weeks since he was able to bypass the Harmony Chip and do something like this.

He had been raised and programmed to serve and only care for the happiness of others, but this made him happy. He didn't know how, but he knew this was beautiful.

It was something he struggled with, every day of his life, and he could never voice it. The Harmony Chip forced his body to perform every task it did, to say everything he said, and if not it would take control of his body in a way that hurt like nothing else in the world.

Yet underneath everything, Feliciano was always there. He heard every question from the Beilschmidt brothers and yearned to answer them.

He was seventeen.

He hated cleaning.

And German food tasted like ass.

* * *

Ludwig had pulled Feliciano back into the house and then inspected his head for any possible dents or injuries, and then began to question him to possibly find the problem.

"Did you get a large amount of water in your ears?"

"No."

"Are you experiencing a malfunction?"

There was a long pause as Ludwig could only assume he was running diagnostics.

"No, I am fully operational."

"Why were you stargazing?"

He could hear it. A small spark inside Feliciano's head, and by the way the HR's head jerked he knew something had happened, which was verified when Feliciano gave him a terribly sad smile.

"The stars are beautiful." He whispered, not in his silky manufactured voice- this was the weak voice of someone in distress, this was a human voice.

Before Ludwig could respond Feliciano raced across the room, plugged himself back into the wall and turned off into sleep mode.

* * *

Ludwig told Gilbert the next night and his older brother wasn't very easily convinced, but he loved Ludwig with all his heart and because it was summer vacation he was willing to chase this wild thread of fantasy before his next year of University started.

Gilbert had told them they provided a pamphlet on every unique Harmony Bot with their user manual and he had read it so many times he could probably recite it off my heart by now, written in the same elegant script he had seen Feliciano write on containers of leftovers.

_Hello, my name is Feliciano Vargas! I am your new DOMESTIC HARMONY BOT and I look forward to serving you for years to come! I am Italian and am fluent in both my native language and English._

_In my sound settings you can set my voice to either Italian, English, or accented English._

_I am trained in many forms of self defense and can cook with the expertise of any gourmet chef around the world._

_As all Harmony Bots are sterile I am also capable of being a bed companion, provided you follow proper care procedure afterwards._

_Despite how I may look and act, I do not have any feelings or emotions, so please do not worry for my well being or question me on anything personal._

_Thank you for your purchase, and please bring any malfunctions or oddities to the attention of the Harmony Company._


	3. Chapter 3

**Two updates in one day? Yes.**

**Reviews and love and other things~!**

* * *

It had been bothering Ludwig for days now. The sad look on Feliciano's face, his odd behavior, that response. He had said it before, he was programmed to not have feelings or opinions. Then what had that been?

He waved to Gilbert from the front door as his brother munched on his breakfast with Feliciano, who also smiled and bid him farewell, and set off on his morning jog. It was a habit he had taken from his parents to the extreme, his love for exercise. He wasn't obsessed, but he certainly lived his life in a way that promoted fair treatment of his body.

He jogged for roughly an hour through the downtown area, taking a shortcut in the park, where he would scan the local bulletin board for possible advertisements to help his lazy brother get a summer job. Ludwig had worked part-time at a grocery store, a cafe, even at a gym as a receptionist... yet Gilbert had never worked a day in his life.

His jog was uneventful and he reached his destination in what seemed like no time at all, looking for any new posts. The bulletin board was a great big hologram supported by six magnetic pillars, yet today something was out of place. There was actually a piece of paper taped to one of the posts.

Ludwig walked over cautiously, pulling the paper down and reading it carefully.

**HUMANITARIANS AGAINST THE HARMONY COMPANY.**

**JOIN US IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY.**

**SAVE-THE-BOTS**

That certainly struck a cord with him. If there were others who possibly thought there was something strange going on with the Harmony Bots, then he must not have been going crazy. He shoved the paper in his pocket and without a moment to lose he began his jog back home, oblivious of the figure watching him the whole time.

* * *

"Welcome home, Ludwig. Would you like me to prepare a bath for you?" Feliciano greeted him, already having taken the blonde's mp3 player and water bottle to put away.

"No thank you, Feliciano. I think I can manage."

"If that would please you, young master." A bell rang from across the house, most likely Gilbert about to ask for some ridiculous favor from the bot, "Now, if you would excuse me."

Ludwig nodded as Feliciano gave him a quick bow and left the room.

* * *

He ignored the highly inappropriate comment his brother made as he shoved Gilbert out of his room and locked the door, powering up his laptop and sitting tensely at his large wooden desk. Part of him was a bit worried that this website was some sort of... trap.

That it might give his computer a virus, or the government would put him on some sort of watch list.

It was worth a shot though, he was willing to try.

It was strange. Feliciano had barely been there two weeks, but Ludwig couldn't stop his gut from hurting every time he so much as asked the other to dust the house. His parents had paid one pretty penny for the Italian harmony bot, so... why was he so worried?

Harmony Bots were claimed to be still born babies, or rescued children so physically or mentally handicapped that they would never survive past the first year of infancy. That is what the Harmony Company claimed on their website, that this was the only way to keep the bodies alive. That the microchip kept them alive, and kept them as efficient and obedient as could be.

Years and years back they had published a documentary about it, and the whole world had ate it up without a second doubt.

Apparently, so Ludwig had just found out, some people did doubt it.

If the chip malfunctioned, even for just a moment, and their story was true- would Feliciano not have died? He didn't though, after Ludwig heard that spark Feliciano had changed. As if he had regained some of his humanity.

The webpage eventually loaded and the screen was completely black except for one white bar, intended for something to be written there.

What was he supposed to do?

Taking the flyer out of his pocket he scanned it for any sort of clue, flipping it over and narrowing his eyes at the discovery.

'ARE YOU READY FOR THE TRUTH' was written in thick red print. It didn't look like ink, it looked like blood.

Swallowing any doubts and closing his eyes, he typed 'YES' and pressed enter.

* * *

"So this is your new Harmony Bot, huh? Fancy..."

"Top of the line, Mattie- cost mom and pop a pretty penny, but I promised not to make him do too much because of Ludwig," Gilbert explained, scratching the back of his head and sighing as he shifted to rest against his boyfriend's shoulder.

He had been so excited to show Matthew his new gadget just a few days ago, but all this nonsense Ludwig was spouting was making him doubt whether or not the whole situation was quite as awesome as he thought. He had poured his heart out to Matthew about it, finding comfort in the quiet reassurance of the blonde. Matthew was the only one he trusted to take something like this seriously.

They both sat in silence, not knowing quite how to approah the elephant in the room that was Feliciano, whom had occupied himself with sorting and folding the contents of Gilbet's messy closet.

"My brother's friend, Kiku. He likes to... peek at thiese things in his free time," Matthew whispered, as if afraid to have Feliciano overhear them. "I could bring him over tomorrow and have him run some tests, if it would bring the two of you some peace of mind."

Gilbert smiled like a kid on Christmas, grabbing Matthew and pulling him in for a sloppy kiss, eyes glimmering with excitement. "You're the best, Mattie! Just when I'm stumped you always know what to do~!"

Matthew laughed, pulling their faces apart.

"That's why_ I'm_ your better half."

* * *

Ludwig could feel his palms sweating as a simple chatroom appeared on the page. There were four people, including himself.

_guest26323 has entered the chatroom_

The chatroom prompted him to change his name, which he did.

_guest26323 has changed their name to germany_

_biscuits: So you got the last flyer, huh?_

_germany: huh?_

_ponyparty: ahahaha don't like mind him, he's suuuuuuch a downer_

_germany: what do you mean the last flyer?_

_biscuits: That isn't important._

_sunandtears: welcome everybody :DDDDD thank you for gathering here on such short notice_

Ludwig tugged the collar of his shirt, quite tempted to leave the odd gathering.

_germany: who are you people?_

_biscuits: This is supposed to be anonymous, idiot._

_germany: it was only a question, don't be so defensive_

_ponyparty: lol_

_sunandtears: so, who are you all trying to save?_

_germany: pardon?_

_biscuits: Yeah, I'm a bit confused too with that question._

_ponyparty: are we like... superheroes now or somethign?_

_ponyparty: *something_

_sunandtears: I assume all of you have HR'S_

_germany: yes_

_biscuits: Same here._

_ponyparty: yup yup yup!_

_sunandtears: I need names, or there is little good I can do for you all :)_

_biscuits: Yao Wang_

_ponyparty: Toris Laurinaitis 3 3 3_

_germany: Feliciano Vargas_

He ran his fingers through his hair and waited for any more movement in the chatroom, but the screen went black.

'YOU WILL BE CONTACTED SOON' flashed for a few seconds and then his browser closed.


End file.
